China eager to continue doing projects with Belarus as part of Belt and Road initiative

The ambassador said that the program was launched in Belarus in 2014 and has been running for six years already. Due to yet another deterioration of the epidemic situation Huawei decided to hold the event online, which fully reflects the company’s responsible attitude to the health and safety of the students. Xie Xiaoyong stressed the importance of implementing this educational program in Belarus in association with the Communications and Informatization Ministry and the Education Ministry. Huawei’s Seeds for the Future 2021 program is designed to spread cutting-edge knowledge, develop talents in the area of information and communication technologies, and assist with the development of the country’s digital economy.

Xie Xiaoyong pointed out that at a recent conference on the occasion of the 50th anniversary since China’s legal position in the United Nations Organization was restored, China President Xi Jinping mentioned the Chinese nation’s dedication to joint development, to providing aid to developing countries, and constantly providing new opportunities for peace through development of China. At present Belarus-China relations of trustful comprehensive strategic partnership and mutually beneficial cooperation keep development dynamics steadily high while cooperation in various fields produces fruitful results, the ambassador said. The Chinese side is ready to continue advancing highly effective joint projects within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative together with the Belarusian side in addition to constantly stepping up cooperation in the area of digital economy, he said. The Chinese side is ready to give a new impulse to further reinforcement of friendly relations between the two countries.

Xie Xiaoyong said that an age of global digital economy has arrived and the science-intensive information industry will become the leading industry in the future. The ambassador pointed out that Huawei Company has been responsibly working on the Belarusian market for 20 years, making its contribution to the development of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, 5G, and other technologies. The company has opened educational centers in Belarusian universities and has trained over 2,000 young Belarusian specialists so far. “I am glad to note that students of seven Belarusian higher education institutions have been selected for the program,” he said.

In turn, Director of OOO Bel Huawei Technologies Wang Chen said that the launch ceremony of the Seeds for the Future 2021 program took place during the TIBO forum in June 2021 and 20 participants have reached the final stage after four months of elimination rounds.  He said: “The Republic of Belarus has very good scientific base and a very good environment for talent development. We pay close attention to training talented young people in the sphere of information and communication technologies in Belarus. Every year we enable opportunities for intercultural exchange and education in China as part of the flagship program Seeds for the Future, an international information and communication technologies contest, and competitions. At the same time the most talented people are granted internship opportunities in our company.”

Belarusian Communications and Informatization Minister Konstantin Shulgan stressed that this program is important for the Belarusian side. He said a quality university education system has been built in Belarus while the Chinese side offers additional opportunities for education in a specific industry. The official said he was confident that the guys will be able to use the knowledge they will get for the sake of development of the Belarusian state. He pointed out that Belarus and China have reaffirmed genuine friendship amid the pandemic and the fact is expressed at all levels.

Belarusian Education Minister Igor Karpenko described cooperation with Huawei as effective. Thanks to the education program Belarusian university students can visit the Huawei headquarters in China and work with state-of-the-art equipment in innovative labs. He pointed out that winners of the program continue their education and work in Belarus. Ten students from two universities became winners and laureates of the program in 2019. As many as 30 students from eight higher education institutions became winners and laureates in 2020. In his words, projects of the program contribute to stronger education ties between the Republic of Belarus and the People’s Republic of China and testify to the high social responsibility of the company. The Education Minister wished new effective solutions in the sphere of information and communication technologies to all participants of the program.

Students of seven Belarusian universities have become finalists this year. Those are the Belarusian State University, the Belarusian National Technical University, the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, the Francisk Skorina Gomel State University, the Mogilev State A. Kuleshov University, and the Polotsk State University. Winners will be able to participate in an eight-day program on 1-8 November. The program includes basic and advanced courses on 5G technology, cloud computing; an introduction to traditional China and contemporary China thanks to virtual tours; lectures and seminars by Huawei experts; interactive classes with group discussions, debates, and roundtable dialogues; participation in the group project Tech4Good; virtual visits to exhibition halls, campuses, and innovation centers.

China’s global program Seeds for the Future was founded in 2008. Representatives of over 500 leading universities from all over the world participate in it. Over 30,000 people from over 126 countries have participated in the program since it was launched.